Wire anchoring device



March 25,1958 A; E. A. BLATON 2,827,579

WIRE ANCHORING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 23, 1947 INVENTOE (l (KVLW Q March 25,1958 A. E. A. BLATON 2,827, 79

WIRE ANCHORING DEVICE Original Filed Jan. 23, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4L, ATTORNEYS United tates Original application January 23, 1947, Serial No. 723,718,

now Patent No. 2,637,895, dated May 12, 1953. Divided and this application March 24, B53, Serial No. 344,293. In Belgium March 21, 1942 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires March 21, 1962 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-126) The present invention relates to a wire anchoring device, and more particularly to a device for anchoring a plurality of high tensile strength metal wires cooperating to form a single-unit wire bundle to which a high tension is imparted, for instance, for the purpose of pie-stressing a structural concrete el ment to this high tension.

My copeuding United States patent application, Serial No. 723,718, filed January 23, 1947, now Patent No. 2,637,895, of which the present application is a division, describes and claims a pr ferred method of forming such wire bundles and imparting thereto the desired high tension. This method comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of untensioned hi h tensile strength wires, which, in combination, form a wire bundle, to extend, throughout the main longitudinal portion of the wire bundle, between two transverse planes located near the respective ends of the bundle, in several closely spaced substantially parallel layers each including a plurality of closely spaced substantially parallel wires in such a manner that, at any cross-section of said main portion of the wire bundle, the wires are substanially uniformly distributed over the entire area of such cross-section, anchoring the wires at one end of the bundle against longitudinal movement in the direction toward the other end of the bundle in relative positions of the several wires with respect to one another the same as in said main portion or" the bundle, exerting at the other end of re bundle a predetermined, uniform, longitudinal tensioning stress on a fraction of the total number of wires in the bundle so as to tension a small number of wires of the order from 1 to 4 at a time while maintaining all the wires throughout said main portion of the bundle in their mutually spaced, parallel positions, anchoring each tensioned wire at said opposite end of the bundle against longitudinal movement in the direction toward said first end of the bundle in a relative position of said wire with respect to the other wires the same as in said main portion of the bundle, and repeating the tensioning and anchoring steps with respect to a small number of the order of 1 to 4 at a time of the remaining wires of the bundle until all the wires of the bundle have been uniformly tensioned and anchored.

Gne object of the present invention is to provide a wire anchoring device which makes it possible to perform this wire tensiouing method in a simple and efficient manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire anchoring device which is pardcularly suitable for use in the wire tensioning method according to my copending application No. 723,718 but which can also be used with favorable results in other wire tensioning methods.

A specific object of the invention is a wire anchoring element in which the wires of a wire bundle can be anchored individually or in pairs as they are stressed to the desired high tension singly or in small groups.

Another specific object of the invention is a wire anchoing device for the wires of a wire bundle, which wires extend throughout the main portion of the bundle in a tent to, and spaced from each adjacent wire and each wire can 1 be securely anchored in its predetermined position.

A still further object of the invention is to build up a wire anchoring device of the type set forth from a smaller or greater number of standard elements to provide anchorage for a smaller or greater number of wire as may be desired.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a wire anchoring device which is sturdy and efiicient to prevent slippage of the highly tensioned wires anchored therein and which is also simple in construction and inoperation.

These and other objects which will appear more clearly as the specification proceeds are accomplished according to the present invention by the arrangement and combination of parts set forth in the following detailed description, defined in the appended claims and illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one embodiment of awire anchoring device in accordance with the invention as it is used for anchoring the metal wires of a wire bundle tensioned by the method according to my copend ing application Serial No. 723,718 referred to above; Fig. 3 is a section taken on line lIIIIl of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section on line IV-IV of Fig. 1 showing the anchoring device according to the present invention in front elevation;

Fig. 5 is a section on line V-V of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of an anchoring device according to the present invention in combination with a partially illustrated apparatus for tensioning the wires individually;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line VIIVII of Fig. 6 and showing the anchoring device according to Fig. 6 in front elevation;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of still another embodiment of the anchoring device according to the present invention; and

Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the device illustrated in Referring now to the drawings, and first to Figs. 1 to 5, the reference numeral 11 denotes generally a wire anchoring device according to the present invention. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and particularly in Fig. 4, the anchoring device 11 comprises a plurality of rigid anchor bars 12 of generally rectangular cross-section (see Fig. 2). Each anchor bar 12 has two opposite flat faces thereof recessed to form a plurality of relatively flat grooves or slots 13. Each slot 1.3 extends entirely across the face in which it is provided and tapers in width, i. e., as shown specifically in Fig. l, the side walls of each slot 13 diverge uniformly from each other and from the center line of the slot which extends across the anchor bar 12 at right angles to the longitudinal axis thereof.

The anchor bars 12 are superposed upon one another in such a manner that the recessed faces constitute the top and bottom surfaces of each bar, and recessed faces of adjacent anchor bars 12 are contiguous to and facing each other.

Thin sheet metal plates 14 are interposed between adjacent anchor bars 12 to separate the slots 13 in contiguous faces of adjacent bars 12.

. pp i a iqn Se ial No Z 8- same angle as the sidewalls of the slots 13. These keys 18 ca e in rted n o the Slot 3 o p o the d sired wire :lockingeffecthetween adjacent inclined side Walls qfi he $l s1 -en l side ds sv the a s ed ys 1 8,respectively. V

Asshown n Piss 3 the anc r ng d c 11 a e used iq anchq ins th wires Q a wi e b n e e en ing longitudinally in a condnit formed in a structural concrete element and tensioned, for instance, by the me hpdjd er he ir my above men ioned n n s In figs. 1 to 5, 19-.i-s asubstantiallyrectangular metal guide plate provided with-rows of. holes 20 (see Fig. 3).

a At its left hand side, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the guide plate 19;is ;connected with a metal tube 21, of more or less-rectangular cross-section, and, on its right handiside, it isqo' d to the smaller base of a, sheet metal envelope 22hayrng-the form ,of a truncated pyramid and terminatingat its. larger basein an annular flange located in a plane atright alIlglQSqt0jth6 common longitudinal axis-0f 7 the tube 21 and truncated pyramid 22. The whole assemhly'; 1 9 ,,21 and 22 is arranged in a concrete beam 23 which iszcast around itso that its end face 24 is disposed in.,-t he same plane as the front face of the annular flange at-the. end of the'envelope 22. A plurality of round as ure r 4 manna a e s ea h at h r s 1 1 the embe imsnt at the invention illustrated in Figs; 1 and 2,cornpr ises four wires positioned in pairs in the slots 13 of an anchor bar 12. Each layer of wires may comprise a greater number of pairs of wires or only two wires. layers depends ppon the tensile force to be exerted.

The wires 25 may now be tensioned as described'in my copending application Serial No. 723,718, for instance by means of the tensioning device shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This tensioning device" comprises a metal cross-pieces having in its upper face two recesses 27 of trapeioidal configuration and forming with two rods 28 and a second cross-piece 29 a coupling system through which a desired high tensionlcan be applied to the wires 25; The rods.

28 form at their endsfforks 30 which straddle the crosspieces 26 and 29 and which are connected to these cross,-

pieces by means of bolts 31 and nuts32.

The second cross-piece 29 bears against a hydraulic jack 33 which. serves. to move the cross-piece 29. in the 7 direction of the arrow.

A metal plate 34'having, vertically elongated slots 35 for the passage of the rods 28 serves as seat fora hase- 36 supporting the jack 33. The plate 34 in turn';i s-.-pro--,

vided. with Securing members '37 for. stays 38 supported on an annular plate 39 which bears against the exposed face of the anchoring memberll. V 7

The jack 33 is carried by side plates 4!) reinforced with.

- angle irons A1. The angle irons 41 are provided with" wires;,sfor examp le-thirty-two steel wires 25 of high alas ticity, areanchored at oneJcnd (not shown) and'form a wire handle extending axially through the conduit formed inthe beam 23 by: the metal tube 21. The individual wires 25 are threaded through the holes 20 in the guide plate 19 and extend through the envelope 22'beyondlthe end 241' of the beam 23. In the main portion of the wire bundle, which extends to the left from the guiderplate l9, asshown in-Figs. 1 and 2, through the tube 21, for instance to a similar guide plate (not shown) near the other end of the beam 23, the wires 25 are disposed in closely adjacent,- horizontal, parallel layers, each containing a plurality of closely spaced substantially parallel'wires 25'- (seerparticularly Fig. 3). As the wires 25 are arranged and maintained throughout the-length of the main portion of the wire bundle in the relative positions indicated in ,Fig. 3, it follows-that at any cross-section of said main portion of the wire bundle the wires 25 are substantially uniformly distributed. over the entire area of thecrosssection;

'In-its practical application, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

the :anchoringdevice 11 isfirst placed in front of. the beam 23 in a position in: which the narrow ends of the tapering slots13 face towards 'theend 24. of the beam 23.. Withallethe-keys 18 removedfrom the'isiots 13, the wires 25 extending 'beyondthe flanged end of the envelope 22 are then threaded through the anchoring device 11 by passingithrough each .slot 13 a pair of adjacent wires '25 inlsuch a manner that each individual wire is,in the same relative 'positionxwith respect to eachother wire as in the main portion of the bundle. Thereafter, the anchoring device 11 is placed firmly against the end face 24 of the, beam-23 and the annular fiang'e-ofienvelope 22, as shown in"Fig:s-. 1 and:2, and the wires" 25- arepulled straight.

As can be seen from Fig. 4, QWing ;to'the designof apertures 42which may be brought into register apertures 43 provided in the base 36. Pins 44 may ;be. introduced into registering apertures 42, 43 to secure the jack 33 at djfierent heights. The yertically elongated slots 35 permit the rods 28 to follow the up and dpwn adiustnientsof the jack 33.

In orderto apply tension, for instance to four witesZS at a time and to maintain this tension for as long as,

desired, the following procedure may be followed in. J accordance with the method described in. my copending.

application Serial No. 723,718.

The jack33 and coupling system 26,28, 29 are adiust- 7 apertures 43 in the base 36, and the pins 44 are inserted in the registering apertures 42, 43 to secure the tensioning device in position. Then the four wires 25 which pass through the two lowermost slots 13 in the anchoring;v

' device 11 are positioned in pairs in the two'recesses 27 in the. cross-piece 26 and are secured in these I'CCSSGSibY j the direction of the arrow on the cross-piece 29,: moves the entire coupling system 29, 28, 26 to the right, as

shown in'Figs. 1 and 2, and thus applies to the four wires-I 25 secured inthe cross-piece 26 the desired tension;

-When'the four wires 25 of the lowermost layer have been tensioned in this manner, they are locked in. the" 7 slots 13 ofthe anchoring device 11 by means ofthe' associated tapered keys 18 being driven into the slots 13 from the Wider ends thereof betweenthe wires 25.

system 26, 28,29.

Next, the pins 44' are withdrawn and the jack33and the coupling system 25,23, 29 are raised until the holes 42 in the angle irons 41 register with the-holes 43 in the bar 36 in the row next above the bottom row. The

tensioning device 33, 26, 28 and 29 is secured in this position by means of the pins 44, and thefour wires 25 of the second layer from the bottom are secured in the slots 27 of the cross-piece 26 by means 'of the keys 45.

The jack 33 is operatedagain and the wires of the second Thenumber of a The 7 jack 33 is then released and the keys 45 are withdrawn 7 so that the anchored wires 25 are freed from the coupling 2 showing the device in a position in which the third layer of wires from the bottom is being tensioned.

It is thus possible to obtain with comparatively small operating devices and little risk of breakage of the individual wires a total tensile force of any desired magnitude.

When all the wires 25 of the bundle have been placed under tension, the jack 33 and the coupling system 26, 28, 29 are removed together with the support members 34, 36, 37, 38 and 39, but the tensile force is maintained in the wires 25 as long as the tapered keys 18 are left in position in the slots 13 of the anchoring device 11.

Should it be desired to release the tensile stress in the wires 25, the coupling system 26, 28, 29 and the members 34, 36, 37, 33, 39 together with the jack 33 are again placed in position and a further pull is exerted on each group of four wires 25 until the keys 18 can be readily withdrawn. The jack 33 is then released, the keys 45 are removed and the wires 25 are then no longer under tension.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5 may also be used, if desired, for anchoring wires 25 which are tensioned in pairs.

It may, however, be desired to tension and anchor wires of a wire bundle one at a time. This can be done by modifying the slots 13 in the anchoring bars 12 and the recesses 27 in the cross-piece 26, and also the shape of the tapered keys 18 and 45, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7.

In these figures, the tapering slots 46 in the anchoring bars 47 and the recesses 48 in the cross-piece 49 have each one surface extending parallel to the direction of movement of the jack, i. e., of the tension applied to the wires and thus normal to the edge of the bar 47, While the other surface is obliquely inclined to the edge, and each wire 50 is locked against the inclined surface of the slot 47 or recess 48, respectively, by a correspondingly shaped key 51 or 52.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate'an embodiment of the invention in which two anchoring bars 53 and 54 are removably secured together face to face by threaded bolts 55. Each of the contiguous faces of the two bars 53 and 54 is provided with a tapering slot 56, 57 similar to slots 13 in the anchoring bars 12 of Figs. 1 to 5, but in the embodiment according to Figs. 8 and 9, the slotted surfaces of the adjacent anchoring bars 53, 54 are in direct contact with each other and the slots 56 and 57 overlap one another and taper in opposite directions so as to form wire-receiving slots diverging in opposite directions. The wires 58 are locked in the slots 56 and 57 by tapered keys 59 in a manner similar to that previously described with reference to slots 13 and keys 18.

With the anchoring device according to Figs. 8 and 9,

the slot 56 in one of the bars 53 may be used for the anchoring of two outgoing wires 58 while the other slot 57 and bar 54 receives two incoming wires 58, and the wires are tensioned in pairs first at one end and then at the other end. This anchoring device is particularly suitable for the anchoring of wires which extend in a circular fashion, for instance around a cylindrical tank. Alternatively, it may be used for joining the ends of two cables, each composed of a pair of wires which extend rectilinearly from the opposite sides of the anchoring device.

What I claim is:

An anchoring device for maintaining tension in a group of wires, said wires, intermediate their ends, being arranged in a plurality of closely spaced substantially parallel rows and columns to form a bundle of wires wherein each wire is individually tensioned to impart a predetermined total tension to said bundle, said anchoring device comprising several pairs of parallel elongated substantially rectangular anchor bars disposed in stacked relationship with aligned edges and confronting faces, each of said bars having at least one open-ended transverse slot formed in at least one face thereof and extending between opposite ends of said stacked bars, each of said slots having an inclined face for engagement with one of said wires, at least one of said wires being received in and extending continuously beyond both ends of each of said slots, said slots being disposed to retain said wires positioned in the same mutual relationship as in said bundle, wedge means in each slot and accessible from one side of said stacked plates for holding at least one of said wires under tension by forcing the same against said inclined face, said forcing being augmented by said tension, and means securing said anchor members together to form a unitary rigid body for maintaining said bundle under tension.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,186,554 Crisenberry June 13, 1916 1,251,103 Rasck Dec. 25, 1917 1,380,800 Haworth June 7, 1921 1,798,777 Anderson Mar. 31, 1931 1,859,561 Haworth May 24, 1932 2,326,547 McNabb Aug. 10, 1943 2,328,033 Schorer Aug. 31, 1943 2,511,761 Barber June 13, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,137 Great Britain Mar. 18, 1887 504,915 Great Britain May 1, 1939 775,474 France Dec. 28, 1934 

